Sex discrimination ‘is prevalent’ in IT sector

Posted 31/03/2010

Sex discrimination in the IT sector could be prevalent despite employment law to protect workers against it, according to a new survey.

A poll carried out by the IT Job Board found that only 35 per cent of IT workers in Europe are female, supported by the fact that many respondents reported working in offices with female to male ratios of one to three.

Some 49 per cent of women in IT said they do not feel that they have the same opportunities as their male counterparts for promotions, while many others described their working environment as being ‘a boys’ club’.

“While the number of women in IT continues to grow, it seems that there still isn’t a level playing field,” commented Alex Farrell, a spokesperson for the IT Job Board.

This follows a poll reported earlier this week by SimplyHired.co.uk, which showed that 58 per cent of respondents believe working mothers are unfairly treated with regard to pay and promotion potential within their workplace.